The Daily Digest
Dead bills Walking!
That's the future of the Republican budget bills that are headed to Gov. Dayton. The House passed all of its budget bills. The Senate has to finish the higher ed budget bill, the environment budget bill and the Transportation budget bill.
Dayton didn't use the veto word but said he would "reject" the budget bills when they hit his desk.
The blame game is now in full force. Dayton says Republicans aren't willing to move from their budget bills even though he has changed his tax bill twice. Republicans have also ramped up their criticism of Dayton, resorting to a 2010 slogan of calling him "erratic." They say he needs to come to the bargaining table.
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Dayton will meet privately with the 109 Republican lawmakers at 1:15pm to discuss the budget.
Tidbit: This meeting probably is helpful to GOP legislative leaders. The members calling for deeper cuts, dubbed the Khmer Rouge by some lobbyists, will understand that it's not so simple as telling Dayton what to do. They will also get a feel for how resolved Dayton is on the budget. That could be a big help when Dayton, Sen. Koch and Speaker Zellers actually get serious about budget negotiations.
Tidbit: Zellers and Koch will be on MPR's Midmorning at 9am.
Senate Democrats will hold a hearing today to highlight the GOP budget cuts.
The new Legacy Grant process could be challenging for libraries.
Same Sex Marriage
OutFront Minnesota and the Minnesota Family Council are telling their supporters that the House will take up the constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriage as early as today.
The House Rules Committee approved the measure on Wednesday by just one vote. Republican Tim Kelly of Red Wing joined every Democrat in voting against it.
Tidbit: Kelly and John Kriesel are the only two Republicans in the Legislature who publicly oppose the measure.
OutFront Minnesota is urging members to contact twelve House members. 9 Republicans; Murray, Mack, Sanders, Loon, McNamara, Hamilton, Smith, Banaian and Kieffer and 3 Democrats; Dittrich, Fritz and Dill.
Complaint
DFL Sen. Barb Goodwin may file an ethics complaint over a tweet written by GOP Sen. Gretchen Hoffman. Hoffman did not apologize and instead shifted the blame back to Goodwin.
Vikings Stadium
The road cost estimate for the Arden Hills site falls to $131 million.
Tidbit: Dayton told reporters on Wednesday that GOP legislative leaders aren't willing to work on the Vikings stadium until the budget is finished.
Bullying
Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius says the state needs a better definition of bullying.
Voter ID
The Senate passed the measure last night. It requires people to present photo identification to vote.
The PoliGraph says a Democratic claim on the number of seniors without Ids is wrong.
Congress
President Obama will deliver a speech today on the Middle East. The speech can be heard live on MPR News at 11am.
Sparks fly at a GOP Rep. Chip Cravaack's public meeting in Mountain Iron on Tuesday night.
Race for President
Tim Pawlenty held a fundraiser last night. His fundraiser signals a crucial phase in his campaign.
Pawlenty told money AP he needs to run a Buick type of campaign.
Pawlenty picked up support from some Huckabee backers in New Hampshire.
Former Utah Gov. John Huntsman heads to New Hampshire. The Washington Post calls him a moderate.